Russia’s ‘Yamal’ icebreaker cruising through the Arctic in 2009. Pink floyd88 a photo via Wikimedia commons Podcast — resources, control and power projection by MATTHEW GAULT In the summer of 2007, Russia planted a flag on the seabed of the North Pole. Russian state television covered the event as a submersible packed... Read more

Global News capture Publish, punish and pardon by PRATAP CHATTERJEE In less than seven weeks, Pres. Barack Obama will hand over the government to Donald Trump, including access to the White House, Air Force One and Camp David. Trump will also, of course, inherit the infamous nuclear codes, as well as... Read more

Jason Amerine. New American Foundation photo An op-ed by MANDY SMITHBERGER Military whistleblowers will soon have greatly expanded protections thanks to language included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 fought for by the Project on Government Oversight and our bipartisan allies in civil society. The inclusion... Read more

Police deploying a water cannon at Standing Rock. Photo via Vice The Government Is Enforcing an Unconstitutional No-Fly Zone to Suppress Drone Journalism at Standing Rock The First Amendment is at stake by JASON KOEBLER In recent weeks, videos shot by Native American drone pilots have showed authorities launching percussion grenades from an... Read more

An F-18C over the carrier USS ‘Nimitz’ in 1996. U.S. Navy photo The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis demonstrates how bad little screw-ups can get by ROBERT BECKHUSEN More than 21 years ago, Taiwanese Pres. Lee Teng-hui visited the United States to give a speech at Cornell University. U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton,... Read more

Police response outside Watts Hall at Ohio State University on Nov. 28 as seen from Curl Market. Blervis photo Taking credit for an attack it didn’t plan, Islamic State is counting on a backlash by SÉBASTIEN ROBLIN At 9:59 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 28, students and teachers at Ohio State University... Read more

U.S. Marine Corps photo At least one of Trump’s complaints makes some sense by ANDREW BACEVICH President-elect Donald Trump’s message for the nation’s senior military leadership is ambiguously unambiguous. After winning the election on Nov. 8, 2016, he went on 60 Minutes and had this exchange with journalist Lesley Stahl. Trump: “We have... Read more

A Harris Harpoon. Photo via Ars Technica and Vice Motherboard We’ve never seen the Harpoon in the wild before now by LORENZO FRANCESCHI-BICCHIERAI For years and in almost complete secrecy, cops and feds in the United States — and elsewhere — have been using powerful devices called “Stingrays,” “cell site simulators,” or “IMSI catchers”... Read more

Banners at a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Minneapolis on Oct. 25, 2016. Fibonacci Blue photo via Flickr Activists count on winning an economic battle by ROBERT BECKHUSEN Stupid tactics have a way of backfiring. Months into the escalating protests and police reaction surrounding the protests over the Dakota... Read more

Gen. James Mattis in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2011. U.S. Embassy Kabul photo But the president-elect may not like that the battle-hardened Marine believes in strong alliances and hates torture by KEVIN KNODELL “It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.” For many Americans that’s... Read more